Southwestern Front

The Southwestern Front was a Soviet Red Army front that was active from 22 June 1941 to 20 October 1943. The front originated as an Imperial Russian Army formation, and it was created from the Kiev Special Military District. During Operation Barbarossa, the front consisted of the Soviet 5th Army, Soviet 6th Army, the Soviet 12th Army, and the Soviet 26th Army; the Soviet 16th Army and the Soviet 19th Army were placed in reserve. These forces were destroyed at the Battle of Uman and the First Battle of Kiev in late 1941, but the front was immediately re-established with new forces. During the Battle of Moscow, the front was commanded by Semyon Timoshenko, and it included the Soviet 40th Army, the Soviet 21st Army, the Soviet 38th Army, and the Soviet 6th Army. The front was formally disbanded on 12 July 1942, and its forces were transferred to the Stalingrad Front and the Southern Front. On 22 October 1942, the front was re-formed from reserve armies, and it was renamed to the 3rd Ukrainian Front on 20 October 1943.